Mark Carney is calling for greater regulation to bring the era of cryptocurrency œanarchy to end.

œThe time has come to hold the crypto-asset ecosystem to the same standards as the rest of the financial system, the Bank of England governor said in a speech at Bloomberg™s London office on Friday. While he lauded the potential value of the underlying technology of Bitcoin, Carney said the digital currencies themselves have failed as a form of money and rejected the prospect of a central bank digital currency in the near future.

œA better path would be to regulate elements of the crypto-asset ecosystem to combat illicit activities, promote market integrity, and protect the safety and soundness of the financial system, Carney said. œThe time has come to hold the crypto-asset ecosystem to the same standards. Being part of the financial system brings enormous privileges, but with them great responsibilities.

Carney endorsed the push by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to classify cryptocurrencies as securities subject to laws governing how they are issued and traded. The SEC, concerned that so-called initial coin offerings are fraught with fraud, has taken a hard line on cryptocurrency providers. In recent weeks, the agency sent subpoenas to dozens of ICOs for information related to their businesses.

Carney said the œextreme volatility of Bitcoin and other virtual coins reflected how they lacked any intrinsic value or external backing. He calculated that the average volatility of the top 10 virtual coins by market capitalization was more than 25 times that of the U.S. equities market in 2017.

Australia™s central bank highlighted a better global backdrop and faster growth at home, while reiterating inflation™s advance and unemployment™s decline would be only gradual, in minutes of this month™s policy meeting.
Main...

Asian shares fell on Tuesday as investors dumped high-flying U.S. technology shares on fears of stiffer regulation as Facebook came under fire following reports it allowed improper access to user data.
The retreat came as investors braced for new...